230714 First week with Bob

Three or four sessions in to the training with Bob.

He was 2 1/2 years old at the time and was given to me because previous handlers had given up on him. He was extremely worried about the pressure from both handler and sheep, and had learned that blowing in and then running was what training was about. He either dove straight in and gripped pretty nastily, or left the field entirely.

I like to use a long line like this with tense dogs because it allows me to stop the stress without applying any social pressure and I can reinforce calm, thoughtful behaviour very precisely. As soon as he is thinking, the long line is relaxed. When he loses his mind, I just stop him from reaching the sheep. He quickly realizes that he is allowed to be in contact, and by staying calm he gets to work. I can also start to add what will become commands, just a little shake of the long line to make him change whatever he is doing at the moment. Immediate release as soon as I like what he tries.

I start tense dogs like this no matter if they have been trained before or not, but with young dogs I try to keep the sheep moving a lot more than I do here. Bob needed to have some time to stand still and watch without a lot of movement in the sheep, so he could take in what was going on. A young dog often needs to see that the sheep move off it more than I set it up here.